For our Endless Summer series this month at Oyster.com, we've decided to choose a destination where we can slow it down a bit, so we can start our year off at a laid-back pace -- before all the demands of 2015 start rushing in.

Atlanta-based United Parcel Service expects to deliver more packages on Monday than on any single day in the company's history. Meanwhile, UPS is working to avoid the disaster the company suffered through last Christmas when millions of packages did not arrive on time.

Last Friday's fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic facility, as well as strikes in Paris and Frankfurt, proved bad things will happen on the road. Delays and disruptions are inevitable. Here are eight tactics to help ease the pain.